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Berkhamsted Half Marathon:
This was a totally last minute unplanned half. After running 16 miles on Saturday with the lazy gang you'd think that would be enough, but no, glass of wine in hand and
a spare hour or two on Saturday night found me scouring for a nearby race with entry on the day. Berkhamstead Half was the one, not too far, not too expensive, and definitely
doable. I even managed to persuade my pal Kim to join me.
We set off at 8 and managed to find the registration point easily. Numbers collected we got a coffee and bumped into Lawrence Folley who was also running. A quick chat and
then off to bag drop. It felt chilly and breezy and we couldn't wait to get started. Soon we were off, the first few miles were nice and punchy, no real hills and lots to
look at. Soon this all changed, the hills arrived, they were long and arduous, many walked. My legs were not happy and soon let me know. Water stations were frequent and
marshals cheery which made life easier. The scenery was beautiful and we spent some time in the Ashridge estate which is always a pleasure.
There was a fair bit of road to run on and we often found we were amongst traffic. At one point I had an Ocado delivery van on my tail for about a mile!
Soon we reached the 10mile mark and the glorious descent began, I managed to make some time up here, the sun shone and I sailed home with a respectable 1.56 which I was
pretty pleased with. We got a nice medal and a goody bag with a drink and some snacks. Free massages were available at the end and were pretty good too! The race was chip
timed and results were super fast.
Things I forgot today: to start my Garmin, to put fuel in my car. The latter made for a fun drive home....
Sarah
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